World Calls for Swift Move in Egypt, Obama Orders Review of Financial Aid

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

UN leader Ban Ki-moon believed Egyptians have “legitimate concerns,” but is worried about the military’s ousting of Mursi, a spokesman said Wednesday.

“Egyptians in their protests have voiced deep frustrations and legitimate concerns. At the same time, military interference in the affairs of any state is of concern,” said deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey.

The UN secretary general “is following closely and with continuing concern the fast-moving developments in Egypt. He continues to stand with the aspirations of the Egyptian people,” said del Buey.

“An inclusive approach is essential to addressing the needs and concerns of all Egyptians. Preservation of fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and assembly, remain of vital importance,” said del Buey. He further stated that “it will be crucial to quickly reinforce civilian rule in accordance with principles of democracy.”

“The world is watching closely the next steps with the hope that Egyptians will remain on a peaceful course, overcome the deep difficulties they are facing today, and find the needed common ground to move forward in a transition for which so many fought so courageously,” said the spokesman. For his part, US President Barack Obama called for a swift return to elected civilian rule in Egypt, saying the United States was “deeply concerned” by the toppling of Mursi.

Obama also sent a signal to military leaders, ordering a review of the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual US aid to Egypt in light of the army’s move against Mursi. “I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible,” Obama said, just hours after Mursi’s ouster.

In Obama’s strongest statement to date on the mounting crisis in Egypt, he also urged the powerful army to refrain from any arbitrary arrests and to protect the rights of all Egyptians. Moving to the United Kingdom, British Foreign Secretary William Hague viewed that “the situation is clearly dangerous and we call on all sides to show restraint and avoid violence.” “The United Kingdom does not support military intervention as a way to resolve disputes in a democratic system,” Hague said in the statement. Despite its concerns about Wednesday’s dramatic events, Britain called on all parties to move forward and “show the leadership and vision needed to restore and renew Egypt’s democratic transition.”

“It is vital for them to respond to the strong desire of the Egyptian people for faster economic and political progress for their country,” stressed Hague. Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris took note that elections had been announced in Egypt after the army ousted Mursi. “In a situation that has worsened seriously and with extreme tension in Egypt, new elections have finally been announced, after a transition period,” Fabius said in a statement. “France takes note of it.”

France hoped a timetable would be drawn up respecting “civil peace, pluralism, individual liberties and the achievements of the democratic transition, so that the Egyptian people can freely choose their leaders and their future,” he added. Similarly, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, condemned the bloodshed, and called for a swift return to democracy. “I urge all sides to rapidly return to the democratic process, including the holding of free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections and the approval of a constitution,” she said.

She hoped the transitional administration announced by the new regime would be fully inclusive and that human rights and the rule of law would be respected, she added. “I strongly condemn all violent acts… and urge the security forces to do everything in their power to protect the lives and well-being of Egyptian citizens,” said Ashton. But Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday praised the army’s intervention and congratulated the new caretaker president Mansour.

“We call on God to help you bear the responsibility to achieve the hopes of our brotherly people in Egypt,” the head of the Sunni-ruled oil powerhouse said in his message.

U.S. to ease Iran Sanctions on laptops, mobile phones

Source : Trend.Az

President Barack Obama's administration plans to lift U.S. trade sanctions that bar sales of consumer communications equipment and software to ordinary Iranians, according to the National Iranian American Council, Bloomberg reported.

The policy shift is to be announced today by the U.S. State and Treasury departments, which administer the sanctions that have been imposed on such consumer electronics since 1992, according to Jamal Abdi, a spokesman for the council, a Washington-based nonprofit group.

The action was confirmed by a State Department official who asked not to be identified because the announcement hasn't been made. The change is intended to help Iranians communicate through social media, text messaging, and mobile-phone videos in order to overcome some of the media and communications restrictions imposed by Iranian authorities.

"Now the U.S. is taking steps to ensure that, as Iran's government cracks down on Internet access and SMS, sanctions will no longer block cellphones, software and hardware," according to Abdi. SMS is an abbreviation for short message service text messaging.

The U.S. has supported such attempts to boost democratic movements and stepped up efforts to stop regimes such as those in Iran and Syria from blocking social media through what Obama has called the "malign use of technology."

In November, the administration imposed sanctions on Iranian officials - including the nation's communications minister - and government agencies for blocking Internet access, mobile-phone lines and satellite-television channels to stifle free speech.

The decision to waive some sanctions runs counter to recent actions in which the U.S. has generally tightened financial and trade restrictions on Iran as part of an international effort to persuade the regime in Tehran to give up activities that could lead to making nuclear weapons.

The National Iranian American Council has been urging the U.S. to aid ordinary Iranians and to assist the reform movement in the Persian Gulf country by ending the communications-equipment sanctions, making it easier and less costly to obtain such gear. The change will lift restrictions on hardware such as mobile telephones and laptop computers and on some software, such as antivirus programs, Abdi said.

"The sanctions were felt most acutely four years ago, at the height of Iran's green movement protests," the group said in a statement.

"The world was galvanized by cell-phone videos and reports of abuses coming from inside of Iran, and SMS and other communications tools were being used to help organize massive demonstrations. Yet all of those tools were under U.S. sanctions."

The restrictions have blocked companies from selling laptops, mobile phones or modems to Iranians, which has fueled a black market for the goods. They also have blocked services such as satellite-based Internet access, website hosting, and virtual private networks for Iranian citizens, according to the group.

Under the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992, the president may waive the requirement to impose certain sanctions if it is "essential to the national interest" of the U.S. This waiver authority has since been delegated to the under secretary of state for arms control and international security.

The administration previously eased some restrictions on mass-market software needed for Internet communications after noting that the sanctions were having an "unintended chilling effect" on the ability of companies such as Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Google Inc. (GOOG), based in Mountain View, California, to continue providing essential communications tools to ordinary Iranians.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control will issue a general license authorizing export of consumer communications equipment and certain types of software to consumers in Iran, according to Abdi.

New computer attacks traced to Iran, U.S. officials claim

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com/

TEHRAN, May 26 (MNA) – U.S. officials and corporate security experts examining a new wave of potentially destructive computer attacks striking American corporations, especially energy firms, claimed that they have tracked the attacks back to Iran.

The targets have included several American oil, gas and electricity companies, which government officials have refused to identify. The goal is not espionage, they said, but sabotage. Government officials describe the attacks as probes looking for ways to seize control of critical processing systems.

Investigators began looking at the attacks several months ago, and when the Department of Homeland Security issued a vaguely worded warning this month, a government official told the New York Times that “most everything we have seen is coming from the Middle East.”

Government officials and outside experts on Friday confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal claiming that the source of the attacks had been narrowed to Iran. They said the evidence was not specific enough to conclude with confidence that the attacks were state-sponsored.

American officials did not offer any technical evidence to back up their assertions of Iranian authorship of the latest attacks, but they described the recent campaign as different from most attacks against American companies — particularly those from China — which quietly siphon off intellectual property for competitive purposes.

The new attacks, officials said, were devised to destroy data and manipulate the machinery that operates critical control systems, like oil pipelines. One official described them as “probes that suggest someone is looking at how to take control of these systems.”

Government officials also claimed that Iran was the source of a separate continuing campaign of attacks on American financial institutions that began last September and has since taken dozens of American banks intermittently offline, costing millions of dollars. But that attack was a less sophisticated “denial of service” effort.

Ali Reza Miryousefi, the head of the press office of the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, in an article published in the May 23 edition of the New York Times in response to an article entitled “Cyberattacks Against U.S. Corporations Are on the Rise,” which was published in the May 13 edition of the paper, dismissed the claims that Iran was behind cyber attacks against the United States.

AM/PA MNA END

Hagel meets Morsy in Egypt, addresses Syria chemical weapons

Source : Egypt Independent

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday the US effort to determine whether Syria has used chemical weapons is a "serious business" that cannot be decided in a rush just because several countries believe evidence supports that conclusion.

"Suspicions are one thing, evidence is another," Hagel told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Egypt that included talks about Syria and other regional issues.

"I think we have to be very careful here before we make any conclusions (and) draw any conclusions based on real intelligence. That's not at all questioning other nations' intelligence. But the United States relies on its own intelligence."

A statement from Egypt’s presidency Wednesday confirmed that President Mohamed Morsy met with Hagel and discussed the Syria conflict.

According to the statement, Morsy pointed to a consensus among regional and international parties on the importance of reaching a political settlement for the Syrian crisis in order to stop the bloodshed, prevent sectarian division, and maintain the unity of Syrian territory.

The United States has warned that any chemical weapons use by Syria, now convulsed by civil war, would cross a "red line" that would trigger some unspecified response.

Hagel rejected suggestions the United States was undermining its credibility by saying it was continuing to assess the issue, even as France, Britain and Israel have concluded evidence suggests chemical arms have been used in Syria's conflict.

A top Israeli military intelligence officer said on Tuesday that evidence supported the conclusion Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons - probably sarin - several times against rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

The officer's remarks came in the final moments of a three-day visit by Hagel to Israel.

Syria's information minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday that Damascus would not resort to chemical weapons against its own citizens or even in the event of war with its neighbor Israel.

Hagel, who had not previously commented on the Israeli report, said that while he had discussed the Syrian conflict and chemical weapons with Israeli leaders, he had not been given the findings cited by the intelligence officer.

"When I was in Israel they did not give me that assessment. I guess it wasn't complete so I haven't seen the specifics, haven't talked to any Israeli officials, nor have I talked to any of our intelligence officials specifically about it."

US defense officials said it wasn't immediately clear whether the intelligence report reflected the final conclusions of the Israeli government or simply the Israeli military.

Hagel declined to elaborate on his discussions about Syrian chemical weapons with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.

Asked whether the assessments by France, Britain and Israel put pressure on Washington to make a judgment more quickly, Hagel said, "I don't think you judge these kinds of serious matters based on a time line.

"This is serious business and you want to be as sure as you can be on these kind of things, and until I see our intelligence assessments and the results of those, I can't respond any further," he said.

The Syrian government and rebels each accused the other of launching a chemical attack near the embattled city of Aleppo last month.

Syrian authorities last year acknowledged having chemical and biological weapons and said they could be used if foreign countries intervened in the conflict, a threat that elicited strong warnings from Washington and its allies.

Hagel’s visit to Egypt also addressed the Israel-Palestine, with Morsy stressing during the meeting the need to reach a just and comprehensive settlement that took into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.

Egypt’s Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also attended the meeting.

Russia: CIA Spy Agency Crossed Red Line

Source :

Russia says the US spying agency CIA ‘crossed a red line’ by ignoring Moscow’s warning against its recruiting Russian security service employees as spies.

The spokesman for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Nikolai Zakharov, said Thursday that in October 2011 the FSB officially warned the CIA station chief in the country that “if provocative recruitment efforts aimed at Russian security service employees continued, the FSB would take ‘mirror’ measures.”

“The CIA crossed a red line and we were forced to react,” Zakharov stated.

On May 14, Russian authorities detained a US diplomat, identified as Ryan Fogle who was attempting to recruit a Russian national to spy for the CIA.

Zakharov said in December 2012 another US diplomat, who was a third secretary at the US embassy in Moscow, had been caught red-handed when he was trying to recruit a Russian agent.

“In the hope that the CIA leadership would draw the necessary conclusions, we did not make this case public. But apparently the adherence by the FSB to the principles of professional ethics was not properly appreciated,” Zakharov said.

US begin anti-mine drills in Persian Gulf

Source : Ahram Online

The US Navy says envoys from 41 nations have gathered in Bahrain to begin anti-mine drills in the Persian Gulf amid efforts by Iran to expand its naval presence there.

The US Navy says envoys from 41 nations have gathered in Bahrain to begin anti-mine drills in the Persian Gulf amid efforts by Iran to expand its naval presence there.

The US-led exercises, which run through May 30, mark the second major show of maritime cooperation in the Gulf in less than a year.

Although the Navy says the drills are not specifically tailored to counter Iranian threats, Iran has previously warned it could block critical Gulf oil routes in retaliation for Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran also has sought to expand its naval capabilities, including plans to launch new submarines.

A Navy statement Monday says the drills will begin with onshore training and then move to the Gulf for maneuvers including mine-sweeping and search-and-seizure operations.

Syria: A Possible Russian Move

Source : Moon of Alabama

There is a currently flurry of diplomacy with regards to Syria. The Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi just visited Jordan. Salehi will next fly to Damascus. Next week the Qatari foreign minister will visit Tehran. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry just talked with the Turkish Foreign Minister Dovatoglu. Kerry is now in Moscow for a talk with the Russian president Putin (The talk starts at least three hours late. Was Putin making a point with this?) Putin recently talked on the phone with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahoo. On May 10 the British Prime Minister Cameron will also have a talk with Putin in the southern Russian resort Sochi.

The U.S. still demands that Moscow gives up on Syria and presses for Assad to leave. Moscow will, I believe, not agree to that.

In this diplomatic context Sunday's Israeli airstrikes near Damascus were a message to Putin, certainly coordinated with Washington. "Look what we will do if you don't give in. Next time we will bomb the Syrian air fields. Then their troops." At the same time the flurry of unfounded "chemical weapon" allegations are used to prepare the "western" public for a military intervention.

The big question is of course what Obama will do after Kerry and Cameron fail to change Putin's stand. There is a risk that Obama will decide to overthrow Assad by overt military means. He committed himself to that when he demanded that "Assad must go." It will be hard, if not impossible for him, to retreat from that. Military means would include a "no-fly zone" which would start to be implemented by destroying whatever is left of Syria's air defenses. Naturally with lots of collateral casualties.

Putin should plan on how to counter that. He should send a signal that can only be understood as "Up to here and no further." He should announce it on May 9, the 68th anniversary of Russia's victory over Nazi Germany.

On request of the Syrian government a squadron of 24 Russian fighter jets could be dispatched to Syria. They would be stationed at two Syrian airports. At each airport a battalion of Russian paratroopers would take care of the local security. Some long range early warning radar and some command and control elements would also be needed.

Supplies would come through Iranian and Iraqi airspace as well as though the port of Tartus where Russia's new permanent Mediterranean fleet is just arriving.

The declared sole and exclusive task of the Russian squadron would be to defend sovereign Syria's airspace from any outer interference. The message to Washington (and Tel Aviv) would be clear. Attacking Syria means attacking the Russian air force. Might you want to think twice about that?

Such a Russian move would be a heavens gift for Obama. He could back down from his demand that Assad has to go without losing much face. He could join everyone else in Washington in blaming Putin while appearing reasonable in not risking a wider war.

US ‘Highly Skeptical’ Syrian Rebels Used Chemical Weapons

Source : RIA Novosti

WASHINGTON, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – US officials are “highly skeptical” of claims that Syrian rebels had deployed chemical weapons in their war with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday.

“We find it highly likely that any chemical weapon use that has taken place in Syria was done by the Assad regime. And that remains our position,” Carney said.

The comments followed an interview that Carla Del Ponte, a member of the UN commission to monitor and investigate reported human rights abuses in Syria, gave to a Swiss-Italian TV network in which she said the commission had received testimony from victims and doctors about the alleged use of the deadly nerve gas sarin by rebel forces.

“According to the testimonies that we have collected, the rebels have used chemical weapons, by using sarin gas," Del Ponte told Radiotelevisione svizzera.

The Syrian government and rebel forces have traded accusations of using chemical weapons in recent weeks.

Last month, the White House said in a letter to lawmakers that intelligence gathered by the United States, with the help of opposition forces in Syria, shows the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale.

Both Carney and US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Monday that the United States still believes that forces loyal to the Assad government were behind the purported chemical weapons attack.

“Any use of chemical weapons in Syria would very likely have originated with the Assad regime,” Ventrell told a news briefing.

A senior State Department official said Monday that US officials “have no information” suggesting the Syrian rebels “have either the capability or the intent to deploy or use such weapons.”

The official added that Del Ponte’s independent commission is separate from the team of experts assembled by the UN to investigate the purported use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Carney on Monday declined to comment directly on the Israeli airstrikes on targets inside Syria over the weekend, which a senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said targeted a shipment of Iranian-made Fateh-110 guided missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, the Associated Press reported.

Carney said, however, that Israel “certainly has the right to be concerned about the transfer of sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah, and that has been a concern of Israel’s for a long time.”

According to Syria’s state news agency SANA, the Israeli attack targeted a research facility near the capital Damascus.

Report: Pentagon upgrades its ‘bunker buster’ bomb to combat Iran

Source : Alarabiya.net English

Al Arabiya -

The world’s largest conventional bomb, known as the “bunker buster,” has been reportedly upgraded by the United States in recent weeks, according to media reports on Friday.

The reports stated the Pentagon showed a video of the upgrade to their Israeli counterparts, “in an effort to reassure them that the U.S. still has an effective military option against Tehran’s nuclear program,” The Telegraph reported.

The 20ft long, 1ft wide bomb, official named the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, now features a new design of explosive fuses to enable it to penetrate bunker depths.

The report highlighted Fordow mountain complex, where Iran is enriching uranium that could be used to make a nuclear bomb, as a possible target.

A series of “bunker buster” bombs have been developed with varying designs depending on the target, The Telegraph reported.

“The new bunker buster has a fusing system that will withstand impact with the more than 100ft of earth and concrete that shields the chambers housing the equipment at Fordow, allowing it to penetrate deeper before exploding,” the report stated.

Chuck Hagel, the U.S. defense secretary, promised Israel during a visit last month that the US would look more closely at options for a a military attack on Iran.

On Friday, the United States said that both Iran and North Korea are trying to obtain high-tech materials linked to their nuclear programs, in violation of U.N. sanctions.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador, Ron Prosor, warned last week against the continued advancement of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Addressing a session of the Security Council, Prosor said that Iran’s nuclear arms program is “hurtling forward at the speed of an express train, while the international community’s attempts to stop it are advancing at the rate of a local bus.”

“As the centrifuges in Iran continue to spin,” he added, “the Iranian regime has the international spinning with lies and manipulations.” “Iran is the greatest threat to the region’s stability,” he stressed.

U.S. stresses commitment to Lebanon's initiative to implement UNSCR 1701

Source : Xinhua

BEIRUT, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A visiting U.S. defense official said Thursday that the United States supports Lebanon's initiatives to implement its obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701.

UNSCR 1701, which ended the Israel-Hezbollah War in 2006, expanded the mandate of UN troops in southern Lebanon and pressed Israel to end violations of Lebanon's airspace and to withdraw from northern Ghajar village.

William Wechsler, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism, stressed the strong and sustained military cooperation between the two countries and his country's commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

Wechsler emphasized continuing joint efforts between the two sides to strengthen the capacity of Lebanese army as the "sole legitimated defense force in securing Lebanon's borders and defending the sovereignty and independence of the state."

Meanwhile, he discussed with Lebanese army Commander General Jean Qahwaji about the local political and security situation and other regional issues, said the statement.

Israeli, U.S. defense chiefs conclude arms deal amid growing unrest in Mideast

Source : Xinhuanet

JERUSALEM, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli and U.S. defense chiefs on Monday announced 10 billion U.S. dollars' sale of U.S. arms aimed at ensuring the Jewish state's military superiority in the Middle East amid the region's growing unrest.

Reiterating his country's unshakeable commitment to Israel's security, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the deal included the supply of anti-radiation missiles and advanced radars for fighter jets, KC-135 refueling aircraft and V-22 Osprey troop and cargo transport planes.

"We took another significant step in the U.S.-Israel defense relationship," Hagel said at a joint news conference with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon in Tel Aviv, adding that the new arms would ensure Israel's capability to preserve its air superiority in the coming decades.

The V-22, which to date has not been sold to any foreign country, will provide the Israeli Air Force with long-range, high- speed capabilities "to deal with a number of threats and contingencies," Hagel said.

The Pentagon chief arrived in Israel on Sunday on the first leg of his week-long Middle East tour that includes stops in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

It is also Hagel's first official visit to the country since entering his post earlier this year, and Iran's nuclear program topped the agenda of his meetings with Israeli leaders, as well as Syria's civil war and other regional issues.

In remarks to reporters on his flight from Washington overnight Sunday, Hagel said the arms sale to Israel was "a clear message" to Iran, which poses "a threat, a real threat."

He underscored that Israel's right to exercise its right to self-defense against Iran's nuclear drive, echoing comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama, who said during his visit here last month that Israel has the right "to defend itself, by itself. "

"In dealing with Iran, every option must be on the table," said Hagel, who in the past stated that he saw "no viable, feasible" military option against Tehran.

Asked whether Israel should strike Iran's nuclear facilities on its own, Hagel said that Israel is a sovereign nation and "every sovereign nation has a right to defend itself."

Ya'alon, for his part, said that while Israel prefers a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue, its strategy regarding Iran is that its military nuclear project "must be stopped."

"We believe that the military option (to curb Iran's nuclear program) should be a means of last resort... But without a credible military option, there is no chance that the Iran regime will stop it" on its own," said Ya'alon.

Turning to the ongoing civil war in Syria, Ya'alon said that Israel has drawn "very clear red lines" to the administration of President Bashar Assad, the first of which is that it won't allow the delivery of advanced weapons to "rogue elements" like Lebanese Shi'ite militia Hezbollah and global jihadists who have joined the Syrian insurgency.

"And we proved it. When they crossed this red line we operated, we acted," said Ya'alon, alluding to Israel's alleged involvement in an airstrike in late January that targeted a convoy on the Syria- Lebanon border carrying anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah.

Regarding Israel's growing concerns about Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons, Ya'alon said that attempts to deliver such weapons into the hands of Hezbollah or other militant groups would constitute the crossing of a red line that would warrant Israeli military action.

Asked about conflicting assessments by different governments about whether or not the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against insurgents and civilians, Hagel said that intelligence agencies in both Israel and the United States are currently assessing "what happened, what did not happen" and warned that "the use of chemical weapons would be a game ch

Syria rebels must distance themselves from "terrorists" - Westerwelle

Source : Strategic-Culture.org

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Saturday the Syrian opposition must distance itself from "terrorist and extremist" forces and said Germany was sceptical about supplying weapons to the rebels.

"We expect from the opposition that they clearly distance themselves in Syria from terrorist and extremist forces," Westerwelle told reporters in Istanbul at a meeting of Syrian opposition leaders and their international backers.

"We are sceptical as the German government when it comes to delivering weapons because we are concerned that weapons could fall into the wrong, namely extremist, hands, but it is a matter that must now be discussed in the European Union."

Iranian victims of MEK terrorist send letter to Obama

Source  :  http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, Apr. 13 (MNA) – Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism has condemned inauguration of MEK office in Washington in a letter to Barack Obama.

MNA: The Association (including the families of 17000 Iranian victims of terrorism) has sent a letter to Obama and condemned the opening of MEK office in a street near the White House as violation of UN resolutions against terrorism, and as boost for violence and terrorism.

The letter reads “MEK is a terrorist sect in the strict sense of the term, in that it has evident characteristics of proper sects such as Cult of Personality, undemocratic structure of power, and intense isolation. The most obvious character of sects is their opposition to human rights and democracy. In MEK structure, Masoud and Maryam Rajavi have the last word. These two are worshiped to the level of saints, and the sect members, first of all, should prove their loyalty to them. Cult of Personality has got its ludicrous dimensions inside MEK, replacing even the love of family with the love of Rajavis.”

The Association also points to the undemocratic structure of power inside the MEK as other characteristics of this sect. “Maryam Rajavi has been the leader of the sect for more than 18 years, and during these years, no elections, even based on formality, has been held to select the new leader. The sect is ruled through dictatorial arrangements and far from democratic mechanisms. Some members have launched aborted attempts to escape the Liberty Camp, and generally faced with failure, they have committed suicide,” adds the letter.

“These individuals need psychological treatments,” reads the report, pointing to the terrorist nature of the sect, in addition to its specifics that have made it a sect.

“This sect is responsible for killing of more than 12000 Iranian citizens. So far, no one among the MEK members has confessed their repentance over their past terrorist acts. This proves their excessive interest and lust for violence and terrorist attacks. The sect has not accepted to eliminate the image of arms from their organizational symbol. Its 3400 members have military trainings, and despite their extreme psychological disorders, have been saved inside the MEK for future military and terrorist operations,” reads the letter.

The letter, in closing lines, has called Obama for more prudence about the implications of supporting such terrorist groups as MEK, and believed such acts being violation of international rules and UN resolutions.

The Association is a non-governmental organization which acts under the banner of ‘world without terror.’

SH/MR MNA END

US, NATO Prepare Syria Intervention: US Official

Source  :  http://www.almanar.com

A top US commander in Europe said that the US military and NATO are drawing up plans for direct military intervention in Syria.

Adm. James Stavridis, head of the Pentagon’s European Command told a Senate hearing last Tuesday that the US military is “looking at a variety of options” and is “prepared if called upon to be engaged.”

Declaring that there was “no end in sight to a vicious civil war,” Stavridis told the panel that “the option of assisting the opposition forces in Syria in ways that would break the deadlock are being actively explored by NATO members,” the Washington Post reported.

The admiral addressed the Senate Armed Service Committee, saying that US and NATO discussions have included providing “lethal support” to the anti- government militias and using direct military force to impose “no-fly zones” in Syria and enforce “arms embargoes” against the Syrian government.

Both Britain and France have called for an emergency meeting of European Union foreign ministers this week on their demand for lifting an EU arms embargo that bars member states from directly shipping weapons to the Western-backed armed opposition.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President François Hollande have indicated that they were prepared to act unilaterally if the EU fails to bow to their demand.

For its part, Germany voiced opposition to the lifting of the ban, warning that it will escalate the bloodshed, risk arming Al Qaeda-linked forces, and potentially spread violence throughout the region.

Washington, meanwhile, has signaled its support for British and French moves to directly arm the anti-government militias.

Last Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry declared that “the United States does not stand in the way of other countries that made a decision to provide arms, whether it’s France or Britain or others

Anonymous explosion take place during military trainings of the Marines in Nevada

شبكة عاجل الإخبارية

An explosion has occurred today on Tuesday during military trainings of the Marines Forces “Marines” in a military facility west of Nevada.

An Official source from “Hawthorne” warehouse has said that a number of people have been injured in the accident without specifying the number of the injured, while the cause of the explosion is still unknown.

In turn, General Creg Short the deputy leader of “Hawthorne” barracks has only referred to it as an “accident” that has occurred in the military facility at ten o’clock pm Eastern time of the United States and that the accident is related to the explosion, without giving further details.

It is noteworthy that the military desert region is used as a training facility for the units of the American Army.

Commander: Terrorists in Syria to Hit Heavy Blow at US, Europe in Future

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Cultural Affairs and Defense Publicity Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri warned the US and certain European states which support the terrorist groups in Syria that the same terrorists will hit a heavy blow at them in future.

“Regional reactionaries, certain European states and the US which are responsible for the turmoil in the region will receive heavy blows from the same terrorists (that they have supported),” Jazayeri said in Tehran on Sunday.

“The US mistakenly thinks that it can use al-Qaeda and the terrorist groups to its interests for a long time and it will witness the presence of its protégés in the US and European cities,” he added.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police, border guards, statesmen, army and the civilians being reported across the country.

Thousands of people have been killed since terrorist and armed groups turned protest rallies into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was almost restored in most parts of the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies brought the country into chaos through every possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May, 2012 that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling Assad’s government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

According to the report, material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons – most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past – has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

Iran brings down foreign unmanned aircraft

Source : APA

Baku-APA. Iran's elite Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has captured a foreign unmanned aircraft during a military exercise in southern Iran, APA reports quoting the official IRNA news agency.

The electronic warfare unit of the IRGC spotted signals that "foreign and enemy drones" were attempting to enter Iranian airspace, General Hamid Sarkheili, a spokesman for the drill, was quoted by IRNA as saying.

After controlling its navigation system, IRGC experts brought a drone down near the city of Sirjan, where the military exercise began on Saturday, Sarkheili said.

"We have managed to bring down an enemy drone. This has happened before in our country," he said.

Sarkheilim, however, did not specify whether the drone belonged to the United States.

Tehran has claimed several times that it had captured U.S. drones, including an advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone in December 2011 and at least three ScanEagle aircraft.

In early January, an Iranian navy commander claimed the capture of two small U.S. drones in past missions in addition to at least four others reported earlier.

Obama's visit to Israel gets an official logo

Source :   GlobalPost

JERUSALEM — The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to brand US President Barack Obama's visit "Operation Unbreakable Alliance."

"Obama’s trip to Israel will be run like a military operation in most every way. It even has a code name: Unbreakable Alliance in English, and Brit Amim (A Covenant of Peoples) in Hebrew," commented Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

"The Prime Minister’s Office came up with a large number of creative ideas for the American president’s visit, but diplomatic protocol combined with ceremonies, speeches and a heavy schedule of meetings have made such initiatives largely irrelevant."

GlobalPost's Senior Correspondent in Israel Noga Tarnopolsky said the unveiling of Operation Unbreakable Alliance signals Netanyahu's nervousness about the way Obama's upcoming trip to Israel may be perceived by the media.

"I think by now its safe to say that everyone knows the Obama-Netanyahu relationship has not been a happy one," Tarnopolsky said. "Netanyahu was weakend by the last elections and it is very likely that he will receive Obama on March 20 without a new government in hand. He needs this trip to go well very, very badly."

If it goes well, she said, it could burnish Netanyahu's claim as the only legitimate candidate for prime minister.

"But Netanyahu and his team are gaffe-prone and uneasy right now — and I'd say "Operation Unbreakable Alliance" is one sign that they are concerned things may not follow their desired narrative," Tarnopolsky added.

Netanyahu won a smaller than expected victory in elections in January. In the run up to the American elections last November, Netanyahu was perceived as favoring Republican nominee Mitt Romney for president and Obama and Netanyahu have had a tense relationship from the beginning of Obama's presidency.

The office of Israeli President Shimon Peres announced Monday that Obama would be presented with the Presidential Medal of Distinction in March, according to the Guardian.

It would recognize Obama's "unique and significant contribution to strengthening the State of Israel and the security of its citizens."

The prime minister's official Facebook page offers these three choices for logos to represent Obama's visit

US military forces have killed hundreds of children in Afghanistan

Source : The Muslim News

US military forces have killed hundreds of children in Afghanistan since 2008, according to a new report conducted by a United Nations monitoring body.

The Geneva-based Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said the killings, often caused by air strikes, were "due notably to reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force."

The report, received by AFP on Friday, also expressed concern that troops responsible for the killing of children had not always been held accountable and that family grievances had not been redressed.

The CRC's comments came after a five-yearly review of US compliance with an international treaty on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

It said it was "alarmed at reports of the death of hundreds of children as a result of attacks and air strikes by the US military forces in Afghanistan over the reporting period."

"The committee expresses grave concern that in fact the number of casualties of children doubled from 2010 to 2011."

There was no immediate reaction from the United States. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Thursday that she had not seen the report, but would look into it.

A UN report in April last year said 110 children were killed and 68 wounded in air strikes conducted by US-led NATO and Afghan National Security Forces in 2011.

The CRC report gave no precise statistics.

UN figures show that the vast majority of civilian casualties in the Afghan war are caused by Taliban insurgents, mainly through roadside bombs and suicide attacks.

But those caused by NATO forces have long been a cause of friction with the government of President Hamid Karzai.

(AFP, AP, Al-Akhbar)

US has secret drone base in Saudi Arabia

Source : Al Akhbar English

The Comments high-profile US drone strike that killed American-born radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen was partly conducted from a secret air base in Saudi Arabia, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The base was established two years ago as part of US efforts to intensify the pursuit of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a grouping of the Yemeni and Saudi offshoots of the global terror network, the newspaper said.

The September 2011 killing of Awlaki stoked concern because he and Samir Khan, a Pakistani-American who also died in the strike, were US citizens who had never been charged with a crime.

The White House on Tuesday defended drone strikes against Al- Qaeda suspects as legal, ethical and wise and insisted that they complied with US law and the constitution, even if they targeted Americans.

The continued focus on drones comes as White House counter- terrorism chief John Brennan goes before the Senate on Thursday for hearings on his nomination to be head of the CIA.

Brennan has been a central player in the US drone campaign, which has expanded sharply under President Barack Obama despite qualms about its legality and public outrage in Pakistan over civilian deaths.

Brennan, who once served as the CIA's station chief in Saudi Arabia, played a key role in negotiations that led to the drone base being established in the kingdom, according to the Post report.

The newspaper said it decided to reveal the location of the drone base after learning on Tuesday that another US media outlet was about to do so, ending an informal arrangement with news organizations not to publish such details.

A Justice Department memo published by NBC News on Tuesday argued that Americans high up in Al-Qaeda could be lawfully killed, even without evidence they are actively plotting an attack.

"We conduct those strikes because they are necessary to mitigate ongoing actual threats, to stop plots, to prevent future attacks and, again, save American lives," White House spokesman Jay Carney said of the memo.

(AFP)

RedditTweet9 Send by emailPrinter-friendly version Tags Category: Top News Tags: US, Saudi Related Articles US drone war may expand to northwest Africa: report The US military plans to expand its drone program to northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Islamic militant groups, the New York Times reported Monday. A US official who spoke on condition of...